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Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 10
With demand of electricity in agriculture sector at its peak and sultry weather conditions prevailing across the region, Haryana overdrew 24 lakh units from the national grid on Monday to meet the highest ever demand of power in the state so far.
Haryana registered the highest ever demand and maximum unrestricted demand of 10069 MW of electricity at 9 pm on Monday, PK Das, Additional Chief Secretary, Power Department, Haryana, told The Tribune on Tuesday.
The maximum off peak demand of electricity was registered as 10016 MW at 2 pm on Monday.
Das further said the unrestricted consumption of 2174.40 lakh units registered on Monday was also the highest ever in the state.
The power utilities Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) and Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) had to impose power cuts of 9.62 lakh units and yet 2164.77 lakh units of power was consumed in the state on Monday.
“The demand as well as the consumption of power on Monday was the highest ever so far in the state,” Das explained.
Sources said that nearly 30 per cent of the power consumed these days is going to the agriculture sector as irrigation is needed these days for all crops – paddy, cotton, sugar cane and other kharif crops.
Farmers, however, are not satisfied and allege that they have not been getting enough power to irrigate their fields.
“This is the peak season when we need water the most for transplantation of paddy. Farmers, who have already transplanted, need water to irrigate their crop. Cotton also needs water these days. Since it has not rained for over a week now, farmers need enough power for tubewells,” said Gurjeet Singh Mann, a progressive farmer from Sirsa.
Though the power utilities are claiming that they are giving 8-hour power supply a day, the power trips occasionally leading to cuts, Mann said.
Sources said that for overdrawing of power from national grid, the states have to pay the prevalent rates of that particular time which are inversely proportional to the frequency of electricity – a frequency of 50 Hz being the most ideal and the rates being the cheapest at this frequency.
The average frequency recorded on Monday was 49.98 Hz, the maximum 50.12 Hz and the minimum frequency was 49.72 Hz.
As regards the power generation status of the state at 7 am on Tuesday, all the four units of Panipat Themal Power Plants, unit 1 and 2 of Deen Bandhu Chhotu Ram Power Plant, Yamunanagar, units 7, 8 and 9 of Adani Power Limited, unit 2 and 3 of Indira Gandhi Thermal Power Station at Jhajjar, unit 2 of Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Station at Khedar and unit 1 of CLP group’s power generation unit at Jhajjar are functional and generating power.
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